Another Safari question

[Fredd]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

A few years ago, i went to Botswana and used the SL (1) and a sL 90-280.  I'm not overly interested on birds and more on wildlife in general. for the most, the quality was very good with autofocus struggling a little (or a lot) on moving targets. In a few cases, i could have benefited from 400/500/600 mm but it worked well for most targets.

I'm planing early next year to go to Tanzania and was looking at options :

- Upgrade to SL2(s) but it will be towards its end of life. Also, has the autofocus sufficiently improved or will it be frustrating. I know some will be successful but I'm an average photographer and the tool makes a difference for me.

- Buy a Sony A1 or similar with the new Sigma 60-600. Weight will not be an issue for me. The full spectrum seems very useful. My only concern would be that safaris tend to be morning and evening with less light and the two/three stop difference could make a difference.

Thoughts appreciated.

 

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[jaapv]

Don’t agonize over gear Some of the safari shots I value were made with an M4 and Telyt-V 400.   Far more important are your and your guides’s skills 

just use the camera and lens you are most comfortable with. Just about any combo is sufficient quality. 
BTW. Manual focus is often preferable over AF on safari. 

[jaapv]

BTW, early next year in Tanzania will be smack in the middle of the rainy season. Beautiful lush and green, but hardly any wildlife visible and game drives stuck in the mud. Great for birding and malaria though. 

[Fredd]

End of February which is OK. I was there a few years ago.

[jaapv]

Depends on the area. You may strike it lucky at the coast and in the North. Doesn't shrink the tall grass, though, nor will it bring game to  waterholes and rivers. Worst are end of March and April. However, climate change is making the seasons extremely variable in intensity and they tend to come a bit earlier. 
for game photography September and October are still the best: it has been dry, no high grass to conceal the animals and the lack of water inland concentrates them at rivers and waterholes   

[robb]

I wouldn’t add an sl2-s camera.  I’d add longer glass.  I’m a fan of the canon 400mm f 4 DO ii with a 1.4x and sigma EF-L adapter 

lighter weight for the f stop and focuses fine in single AF mode.  None of the Leica cameras are great in continuous AF in my opinion.  You will get some differing opinions  on that, but I’d not count on anything moving.

Robb

[jaapv]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

12 hours ago, Fredd said:

My only concern would be that safaris tend to be morning and evening with less light and the two/three stop difference could make a difference.

 

Not really. You drive out at sunrise and it will be fully light before you have settled down in the vehicle and you won't be using a 600 on night drives - the spotlight does not reach that far. 

 A Nikon 600mm f/4E FL ED VR will set you back nearly 20.000 $ and weigh close to 4 kg...

[Knipsknecht]

Actually, I wouldn't use any fullframe camera for a Safari but a micro-four-thirds system. Especially the lenses are much smaller and lighter with exceptional tele-lenses available that don't make it necessary to sell a kidney first. In 2016 I was on two Safaris in Tanzania and South Africa, and I had a tiny and rather cheap mft-setup with me and the photos I took still amaze me. 

Don't get me wrong - today I am using Leica M and Panasonic L-Mount fullframe cameras, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a new mft-setup if I were about to go on a Safari again.

[jaapv]

I had very good results with a Panasonic GX 8 and Panaleica 100-400. Presently I would  recommend a CL with the new Leica 100-400 for a compact and high quality set. My present gear is an SL 601 with Sigma 150-600 and CL with 55-135. ( and 18-56) The CL for close game,  as backup body ( essential in the bush IMO ) and 1.4x extender. 

[jaapv]

I also wonder why one would want to use  AFC. AFS is so much better on Leica cameras I rarely if ever feel the need for AFC on safari. Even this charging Rhino -we had to remove ourselves pretty smartly after the shot as was moving at speed- was taken using AFS. It only has very minor backfocus on the horn, I doubt whether AFC would have done better. 
 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Fredd]

On Leopards that were moving (not very far), AFs was hit and miss. AFc hunting too much. On a 601 SL.

Birds were tricky.

[jaapv]

Never had a problem with Leopards. They are normally not that fast a quite predictable. I most likely would have used manual focus and pre focused on a spot they were heading to. You probably ran into the general AF problem that the focus mechanism chose a different area to focus on as the animal was not in the green box. A matter of getting too exited and not concentrating on the markings on your viewfinder. Even AF needs user guidance. 

[jaapv]

Birds can be difficult - the problem is that wildlife  is a form of photography that requires some learning and a lot of skill. Not only is handling a long and heavy rig a matter of, as always, practice, practice, practice, there is also knowledge of animal behaviour required to anticipate animal behaviour, plus some bushcraft. It takes years rather than weeks. Many photographers think that buying the "best" camera (there are plenty of Internet Gurus who will tell you which one that is supposed to be) and setting them to machinegun will solve everything. Not so, I fear. Look at Michali's work on the forum - many years of practice and study have gone into it and compare to the boring holiday snaps of your uncle who went "on Safari" 

So practice your gear, handle it without fumble and listen to your guide. What gear it is is fairly irrelevant.

You want reliably successful photographs of lions in the hunt? You should have taken a thousand of your dogs playing on the beach before .  Mongooses on a night drive? Start  by spending the summer with hedgehogs in your garden. Birds? Take your telezoom with you on your Sunday walk in the woods.  Read up on your animals. Consider the different light. I have a 486 filter on for tropical noon colour. You don’t need a dawn and dusk lens speed; they last approximately five minutes under the equator. Don’t use a tripod. You’ll only hit your fellow vehicle occupants on the shins. Beanbags are needed. Above all: sit back and enjoy your experience in real life instead of through your EVF. 

[AZN]

20 hours ago, Knipsknecht said:

but a micro-four-thirds system

I agree.  A month ago I was seriously looking at the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 camera for its good (20MP) quality and to keep things small and light for travel.

In the end I decided on repurposing the Sony A7RIV I already had, but in APS-C mode.  Uncompressed 26MP and there are no end of lenses you can use in APS-C

FWIW, YMMV etc.

Edited June 1, 2023 by AZN

[Fredd]

Thanks for all the good advice. As always there are practical limitations - I don't go to safaris frequently and i don't have a lot of time to allocate to training so equipment does make a difference in my case (in particular for the few special occasions). That being said, I have 40 years of photography behind me and in fact spend more time an enormous amount of time on photography (but that is astro photography - in excess of 1000 hours per year).

In any case, I think we can close this topic.

Thank you

[jaapv]

A final word: if this is just holiday for you (albeit a fantastic holiday imo) just relax, sit back and enjoy. Don’t take heavy pro stuff for the safari bit, I think that the MFT suggestion is really optimal for you. That leaves place for your main interest, Astro The night sky in Africa has to be seen to be believed. The tropics, no pollution, light or otherwise, paradise. 

[Fredd]

Yes, very much looking forward to that !